Microsoft Windows 8 Consumer Preview hits 1 million downloads

It took less than 24 hours for the tally of Windows 8 consumer preview downloads to hit the 7-figure mark. A message on the official Windows 8 Twitter account confirmed, "one day later…one million downloads of the consumer preview," which referred to the public download that went live on Microsoft's website yesterday.

So if it wasn't already clear, there is a lot of excitement building around Microsoft's new operating system. The reason for that enthusiasm is that Windows 8 is a completely rebuilt platform; it looks nothing like Windows 7 and has been redesigned to fit in with today's tablet-toting, smartphone-loving consumer. The Metro UI is a completely different look for Windows, and people are intrigued by it.

Obviously that one million number reflects downloads, not unique users. So if even a small percentage of people downloaded the preview for multiple computers, the actual number of people who are running the Windows 8 preview will be significantly less. Regardless, though, that's a pretty impressive milestone to hit in one day.